


No Rain, No Rainbow

by justyrae



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Beach Holidays, Blow Jobs, Flirting, Hand Jobs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 16:28:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13485375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyrae/pseuds/justyrae
Summary: Zayn fully intends to spend the next few weeks sleeping, no matter where he is. Niall manages to show him that it's good to get out of the house every once in a while.





	No Rain, No Rainbow

**Author's Note:**

> i spent ten days in kauai and was inspired to write a beach au. somehow i managed to write this entire fic within those ten days, and now here i am posting it at 2am when i should be sleeping bc i'm finally back in my own house. oh well.
> 
> i also haven't written ziall in, like... forever. so that's a thing again, i suppose.
> 
> big thanks to **akai-coat** for being the best beta and **queerlyalex** for all the encouragement  <3
> 
> (the title comes from some hat i saw in a shop. i thought it fit rather nicely.)

Zayn sleeps through most of the flight from London to LAX. He dozes on Harry's shoulder during their layover, and promptly falls asleep as soon as they're settled on their second flight. Harry doesn't seem to mind that his companion leaves him to entertain himself on their extremely long travel day. Or, if he does, Zayn's never awake long enough to hear about it.

It still feels like Zayn's trying to catch up on all the sleep he missed during his exams, even though he hasn't been enrolled in any classes since May of last year. He'd lost countless hours of precious sleep during his undergraduate years of university and suspects that he'll lose even more when he starts his postgraduate studies in the fall. One of the main reasons he agreed to accompany Harry to Hawaii in the first place was because Harry had said if he's going to spend his gap year sleeping, he may as well do it somewhere other than dreary old London.

He'd also grown a bit tired of Harry moping about all the time, constantly bringing up how nobody wanted to go to Hawaii with him even though there's a big empty house waiting there for them. Zayn was actually starting to feel a bit sorry for the house, an _inanimate object_ , and suspected it was time to just give in already and get Harry to shut up.

When Zayn takes a good look at the tiny terminal they step into once they get off the plane, he thinks perhaps he should've gotten a bit more information out of Harry.

"What?" Harry asks, reading the look on Zayn's face and getting defensive before Zayn even utters a word. "Don't judge a book by its cover."

"This cover is _tiny_ ," Zayn mutters under his breath as he hitches his bag further up onto his shoulder, following Harry down the single hallway towards baggage claim. He wonders if anyone ever actually gets lost in this airport or if they simply just turn around and realize there's nowhere else to fucking go.

The baggage claim area is even smaller than Zayn thought it could be; just two carousels that are practically outdoors, the warm Hawaiian breeze blowing in through the open space of the gate surrounding them.

"See?" Harry says, nudging Zayn with his elbow as they walk towards the carousel furthest from the door exiting the terminal. "It's nice."

"Suddenly I don't wonder why nobody wanted to come with you," Zayn mumbles. He glances quickly at Harry's face, noting the pout that tells him Harry heard every word he said, and reaches up to ruffle Harry's hair. "Just kidding, idiot."

"I fly you all the way out to Hawaii and this is how you treat me?" Harry says a little petulantly, his bottom lip still jutting out to show his disdain. Zayn simply rolls his eyes.

Their bags come out in no time at all and they squeeze onto a tightly-packed shuttle bus headed for the rental car company. The drive takes approximately three minutes, leaving Zayn to wonder if it would've been less trouble to just walk there. He stays outside and smokes two cigarettes in quick succession as Harry goes inside to collect the keys. He's swinging them around his finger with a big grin on his face when he comes outside, his obnoxiously large sunglasses finally off the top of his head and shielding his eyes. Zayn squints in the bright sunlight and lifts his hand so he can see him properly, raising his eyebrows when he catches a glimpse of the insignia etched onto the key.

"Why am I not surprised?" he muses softly as they make their way towards the Range Rover, rolling their bags along behind them. If he's being honest, Zayn's a little surprised (and a lot relieved) there wasn't a driver waiting for them in the pickup area.

"We should stop on the way," Harry says as he buckles himself into the driver's seat, "to pick up some supplies."

Zayn pauses, giving Harry a wary look as his grip on his own seatbelt tightens.

"Like, food. Drinks. That sort of thing."

"Normal food, yeah?" Zayn asks dryly. "Or are you just going to force-feed me kale smoothies the whole time we're here?"

Harry smiles, showing nearly all of his teeth. "I'll drop in some pineapple just for you."

*

It's late afternoon by the time Harry finally pulls up to the house, jolting Zayn awake when the car lurches to a stop. He rubs his eyes as he groggily peers out of the windshield, seeing nothing but darkness.

"Haz, where have you taken me?" he asks suspiciously, watching Harry as he opens his door and climbs out of the car.

"Paradise," Harry replies as he slams the door. Zayn watches as Harry disappears from his sight, reappearing behind him when he opens the trunk and Zayn blinks a few times in the receding afternoon light.

They lug their bags up the stairs to the front door, setting them just inside once Harry's unlocked it and then turning back around to get the bags of groceries from the car. Zayn leaves Harry to put everything away, knowing he'd inevitably get told off for putting something in the wrong place. Harry's particular about the strangest things, this is one thing that Zayn came to learn about him when they roomed together during university.

Zayn wanders around the house idly, taking in the number of windows and sliding doors, finally understanding why Harry had used the words _light_ and _airy_ so often when he'd described this place. Even as the sun starts to set, the windows still let in so much light that Zayn doesn't have to reach for any switches.

He steps out onto the balcony off the master bedroom, pulling his pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lighting one up. It occurs to him halfway through his third pull that he didn't think to ask Harry if he was allowed to smoke here, or if he'd have to go out into the road, several feet away from the house. He feels a bit sheepish about it but finishes his cigarette regardless, making a mental note to ask Harry before he lights another.

When Zayn wanders back into the kitchen, Harry's got some music playing as he's washing a head of lettuce in the sink and there are various cut up vegetables strewn across the countertop. Zayn takes a seat on one of the stools on the other side of the kitchen island and sets his cigarettes and lighter down on the surface, propping his head up in one hand as he watches Harry.

"What d'you think?" Harry asks, glancing at Zayn over his shoulder once he's turned the water off.

"Of the house?" Harry nods. "It's nice."

"Told you." Harry beams. "Aren't you glad you came?"

"Depends what you're making for dinner," Zayn replies as he crosses his arms and rests his chin where they intersect. He raises his eyebrows to show that he's only sort of joking, but Harry gives him a good-natured roll of the eyes in return.

"Don't worry," he says, "the salad isn't all I'm making."

Zayn stays mostly silent as Harry continues cooking, listening to the playlist Harry put on and wondering where he's got the energy to prepare a meal after the long hours of traveling they've done. He'd have been alright to just go straight to bed and deal with hunger in the morning, but the longer he spends watching, the hungrier he gets.

Fish tacos are the main course for the evening, Zayn discovers. He'd let Harry do most of the shopping when they'd stopped for supplies, offering his opinion on a few items when Harry asked. He'd slipped in a few terrible snacks into the cart when Harry wasn't watching, taking great joy in the look on Harry's face when he unearthed them to place on the conveyor belt later on.

Zayn devours everything on his plate - salad included - within minutes of the two of them sitting down to eat. If it were in front of anyone else, he might have been embarrassed, but seeing as how Harry's seen him do much worse (and vice versa), Zayn doesn't care at all.

"Which one's mine?" he asks later on, as he's clearing the dishes from the table.

"Whichever one you like," Harry replies.

"Reckon you ought to have the master," Zayn says. He scrapes the tiny remnants of food into the bin before setting them in the sink to soak. His eyelids are getting heavy again, there's no way he's getting to the dishes tonight. "Since it's your house, and all."

"Very kind of you," Harry replies in an amused tone. Zayn glances over his shoulder to find Harry staring at his phone with a determined look on his face, but it disappears when he realizes Zayn's watching him. "What?"

"Nothing," Zayn replies, shutting off the water and stretching his arms over his head. "I'm going to bed."

"Already?" Harry teases lightly. "Not going to explore the surroundings first?"

"Plenty of time for that, innit?" Zayn weaves his way back to the table to press a kiss to the top of Harry's head and ruffles his fingers through his hair. "Night, Haz."

"Night, Zed."

The chair creaks as Harry leans back in it, but Zayn doesn't linger. He scoops up his bag from where he left it and chooses a room at random, shutting the door behind him. It's overwhelmingly tempting to just fall on top of the bed and pass out immediately, but Zayn forces himself to stay awake a little longer, to at least get out of his stale clothes.

It feels immeasurably better to slip under the covers in a fresh pair of pants, and Zayn's asleep again within minutes.

*

It's impossible to tell what time it is when Zayn wakes up the following day. It could be morning still, or maybe the middle of the afternoon. The sun peeks in through the cracks in the blinds over the giant window above Zayn's bed, and even though he's been awake for less than a minute, he seriously considers rolling over and going back to sleep.

The pressure on his bladder and rumble in his stomach overpower the urge to fall back asleep, so Zayn drags himself out of bed and shuffles into his ensuite to piss before he makes his way towards the kitchen.

There's a pot of coffee sitting on the counter with an empty mug next to it and Zayn doesn't even hesitate before pouring himself a cup. He hums in appreciation after taking the first sip and rubs his eyes as he turns towards the fridge. It doesn't occur to him until he's spent at least thirty seconds staring blankly into the fridge that Harry's not anywhere to be seen.

"Haz?" he calls. He closes the refrigerator door and walks past the kitchen island to check and see if Harry's fallen asleep on one of the couches in the living room, but they're both empty.

He walks over to the window to peer outside onto the deck, but the couches out there are empty as well. He takes another sip of his coffee before deciding to check the master bedroom, finding it far too amusing that Harry would get up, make coffee, and then go back to sleep. Vacation Harry is not unlike Normal Zayn, it seems.

"You lazy sod," he says in a playful tone as he pushes open the door to the master bedroom, fully expecting to find Harry tangled up in the comforter.

The bed's empty. It's been slept in, that's for sure, but there's no telling how long ago Harry got up.

Zayn goes back into the kitchen and ends up making himself some toast before settling in on the couch in the living room. He finally remembers to check the time, finding out that it's just past 11 thanks to the cable box underneath the television.

"Must've gone out for a run," he muses quietly with a mouthful of buttery toast.

It doesn't bother him in the slightest that Harry's disappeared, especially not if Harry did in fact go for a run or something. He's thankful that he wasn't woken up and badgered into joining, not that Harry's ever been successful with trying.

*

Zayn doesn't remember falling asleep on the couch when he suddenly wakes up to the sound of raucous laughter outside the window. He sits up too fast, his head spinning as his brain and body try to catch up to one another, but by the time he's able to function, whoever was passing by is long gone. He groans loudly as he stretches, checking the clock again to see that two hours have passed since he last looked, and that's when he hears the sound of a shower running.

He gets up from the couch and heads towards the noise, walking into the master bedroom just in time to hear the shower turn off. Harry appears moments later, coming out of his ensuite with a towel wrapped around his waist and another one wringing the water out of his hair.

"You're up!" he says brightly as Zayn breathes a sigh of relief. "What's wrong?"

"I thought…" Zayn starts, but he can't really be sure _what_ he thought. It makes perfect sense now, that Harry would be the one using his own shower. He shakes his head and waves off any explanation he might've tried to come up with. "Did you go for a run or summat?"

"I… yes!" Harry clears his throat. "Yeah, the beach is especially good for that, y'know."

"Could leave a note, next time," Zayn says, rolling his eyes as Harry tosses one of his towels aside.

"Aww, were you worried about me, Zed?" Harry grins, whipping the towel around his waist off before Zayn can avert his eyes.

"Hazza!" he shouts, laughing as he turns his back to Harry. "Jesus, mate, I'm right here."

"I don't mind," Harry replies. Zayn rolls his eyes even though Harry can't see.

"That's not the _point_ ," he says, starting to turn back around after he hears the snap of elastic. Harry's got pants on now, at least, but the shit-eating grin still remains.

"Hungry?" he asks.

Zayn shrugs a little, choosing to be noncommittal and just a bit difficult to push Harry's buttons. "I could eat."

"Anything you fancy in particular?"

Zayn shrugs again. "Whatever."

"Zayn," Harry says with a long-suffering sigh. "Someday, I'll just let you starve."

"But not today," Zayn says, grinning as he tosses his arm around Harry's shoulders.

*

The days of their first week spent in Hawaii pass by with Zayn hardly noticing one day's difference from another. He spends a ridiculous amount of time sleeping, either in his own bed or one of the various couches spread out among the house and on the wraparound deck. Once or twice, Harry tries to get Zayn to accompany him down the short pathway to the beach, but Zayn always refuses.

"I'm good right here," he tells Harry with a lazy smile.

"I'll get you to the beach," Harry calls over his shoulder before disappearing amongst the trees. Zayn rolls his eyes, settling back against the cushions and picking up the book that had dropped to the floor the last time he fell asleep.

If there's one thing Zayn hadn't expected to see, it was all the _books_. He'd thought there might be a few, some trashy romance novels or books about the island they're on (there are a few of those, of course), but in every room there seems to be shelves upon shelves of all sorts of books. Historical, thriller, science fiction; tons of genres to keep any avid reader busy during their vacation.

By the end of the first week, Zayn's slowly made his way through four of the ones he's picked out. He divides his time between reading and napping, usually falling asleep mid-sentence because he can't resist the lull of the warm Hawaiian breeze.

The strange thing is, he keeps getting woken up by the same shouting and laughter he heard on the first day. Harry never seems to be around to hear it, and it's gone so fast that Zayn can't find its source, which makes him start to feel a bit like he's imagining things. When he does finally ask Harry about it (rather, when he _remembers_ to do so), he doesn't even get a decent answer.

"You're probably just hearing people from the beach," Harry says. "We are like, right on the water, you know."

Zayn gives him a look and Harry snickers.

"I guess you wouldn't, would you? You haven't yet gone down to the beach."

"Shut up," Zayn mumbles. "I'm telling you, it sounds like they're like, right under the house."

"Maybe it's ghosts," Harry says, his eyes going comically wide. "Beach ghosts!" He wiggles his fingers towards Zayn and does an exaggerated ghostly moan, the kind of thing you'd expect from someone trying to frighten a small child.

"You're an idiot," Zayn tells him, batting his hands away.

*

The following morning, Zayn wakes up far earlier than he normally does. It's not even eight o'clock when he stumbles into the kitchen, only to find no coffee waiting for him. The door to Harry's room is closed, which it never is unless he's sleeping, so Zayn simply grumbles under his breath and goes out onto the deck for his morning cigarette.

He's in the middle of planning just how he's going to wake Harry up - because it's just not fair that he's awake and Harry _isn't_ \- when he hears a shower running. He does a double take, wondering if Harry's left his window open and that's what he's hearing, but it's not that same, familiar sound he knows.

A laugh rings out and Zayn freezes. He knows that laugh. It's the same fucking laugh that's been waking him up all bloody week, he _knows_ it.

Zayn walks carefully across the deck, trying to make as little noise as possible so he can finally catch whoever's been disturbing him red-handed. He leans out over the railing and there's the source of his problems: two random blokes using the outdoor shower.

"Hey!" he yells out, though his voice is so hoarse from sleep and cigarettes that it doesn't even register to its intended listeners. "Hey!" he shouts, louder this time and finally catching their attention.

They both look at him with identical wide eyes, though one seems to recover much faster than the other. Even from his distant view, Zayn can see him rolling his eyes and turning back to his companion to continue their conversation.

"What the hell d'you think you're doing?" Zayn shouts.

"Washing off sand!" The bloke who had rolled his eyes is the one to respond, but the other seems sufficiently spooked and starts gathering up their things.

"You're trespassing, y'know that?" Zayn calls back. "I could call the cops!"

"Go ahead!" Against his companion's better judgment, the bloke cackles loudly. "You'll have to catch me first!"

Zayn groans angrily and leans back from the railing, trying to think quickly. He sucks hard on his cigarette before storming back across the deck towards the door, momentarily forgetting the no smoking rule in the house as he runs to his room to get his phone.

But by the time he gets back, they're both gone.

A bleary-eyed Harry stumbles out of his room when Zayn's come back inside, fuming from his run-in with the rude trespassers.

"What was the shouting?" Harry asks, yawning loudly as he rubs his eyes.

"Some fucking… kids, I dunno." Zayn shakes his head. "Using the outdoor shower like it was their bloody house or summat."

Harry huffs a laugh that turns into another yawn and Zayn crosses his arms, feeling more petulant than usual.

"This is your house, y'know. Shouldn't you be pissed off?"

Harry shrugs. "No harm, no foul."

Zayn watches with a blank stare as Harry shuffles into the kitchen and starts pawing through the fridge. He leans on the counter and clears his throat, getting Harry's attention again.

"Seriously?"

"What?" Harry shrugs his shoulders. "The house is usually empty, anyway. As long as they're not like, breaking windows and shit, let ‘em use the outdoor shower."

"Alright," Zayn replies, letting out a long breath. "They're loud as shit, though. Definitely the dickheads who've been waking me up."

"Maybe you should stop napping so much," Harry teases. "Then they wouldn't wake you up."

"Piss off, Hazza."

*

When Zayn stumbles into the kitchen the next morning, he notices two strange things. One, Harry's lounging on the couch with a book in his hands. Two, one of the blokes from yesterday is cleaning the outer side of one of the glass doors.

Zayn actually does a double-take.

"Haz?"

"There's coffee in the pot," Harry answers as he turns a page in his book.

" _Harry_ ," Zayn says pointedly, grabbing his attention. "Who's that?" He points to the boy who's now paused in cleaning the door and gives Zayn a small, awkward wave. Harry twists around on the couch to see who Zayn's pointing at and laughs.

"Oh, that's Niall."

Then he turns back around and continues on with his book. Zayn blinks a few times, going back and forth between looking at Niall and looking at Harry. Niall, to his credit, actually goes back to cleaning the glass and avoids making eye contact with Zayn.

Zayn shakes his head at Harry as he goes to pour himself a cup of coffee. He's got half a mind to snatch the book right out of his hands and thwack him over the head with it, but he restrains himself as he walks past Harry to use another door to get out onto the deck for his morning cigarette. He sets his mug down on the railing and takes a cigarette out of his pack, hearing sounds of water sloshing just around the corner.

Curiosity gets the best of him and he turns the corner and finds Niall kneeling down next to a bucket, soaking a rag before he starts on one of the other windows. He looks up at the sound of Zayn's lighter and smiles, though it's slightly awkward and tinged with nerves.

"So," Zayn says, mouth still wrapped around his cigarette. He inhales deeply and Niall waits for him to speak again, which Zayn does after exhaling the smoke. "You're Niall."

"That's me," Niall answers with a breathy chuckle. He clears his throat and wrings the rag out again. "Sorry about… y'know. Yesterday."

"Is that why…" Zayn trails off, gesturing to the bucket and window with his left hand as he takes another drag of his cigarette.

"What-- Oh, no," Niall laughs again, a little less timidly this time. "This is, uh, my job. I get paid to do this."

"To wash the windows?"

"That, and other things." Niall ducks his head, twisting the edge of the rag around one of his fingers. "I'm, like, a handyman. Of sorts."

Zayn raises an eyebrow and chuckles softly. "Of sorts?"

"Yeah," Niall answers with a shrug. "Can do just about anything around a house, fixing, cleaning, that sort of thing. I do it for a lot of houses around this part of the island."

"Do you?" Zayn says, taking another drag from his cigarette. He's fairly sure that Niall isn't intending for his words to be construed as innuendo, but it's a little too hard to resist. "And the tenants, do you do things for them too?"

"Umm," Niall stutters a little, and Zayn bites back a grin at the sight of his cheeks going red. "Y-Yeah, if they need something. S-Something I can do, y'know." He shrugs again. "Why not?"

"Why not," Zayn echoes quietly. "Why not."

Niall laughs awkwardly, the sound coming out high and sudden like he hadn't meant to do it. He clears his throat and immediately turns to the window to start washing it, but Zayn keeps watching him. He delights in the way Niall's eyes dart to him every so often, like he's making sure Zayn's still there.

Zayn retrieves his coffee from around the corner but returns before Niall's finished the window, leaning back against the railing to watch as he enjoys the remainder of his cigarette. When Niall's finished with the current window and before he moves onto the next, he turns around to face Zayn again.

"Did you call the cops?" he asks.

"Hmm?" Zayn blinks slowly. He'd been slightly distracted by the mesmerizing movements of Niall's arm as he wiped down the window with a squeegee and hadn't heard the question properly.

"I was just wondering, like, if you'd called them." Niall twists the rag around his finger again in the same nervous manner. "Because, like, Lou can't really afford to get another complaint or arrest."

"Lou?" Zayn blinks again and then makes a noise of understanding. "Is that the bloke you were with yesterday?"

"Yeah, he…" Niall laughs softly. "He's a bit of an idiot, but he's my best mate and like, he didn't mean any harm or nothing. It's just… y'know, we use this house to get to the beach sometimes and like…" He gestures quickly towards the inside where Harry's presumably still lounging. "Harry doesn't mind, and we thought the house was empty, anyway."

"You didn't know we were coming?"

Niall shakes his head and Zayn sniggers.

"Figures." He rolls his eyes and stubs out his cigarette. "I didn't. Call the cops, I mean."

Niall visibly relaxes. "Good. I mean, thanks."

"Just, umm…" Zayn picks up his mug and taps his fingers against the side. "Try and keep it down, next time?"

"Yeah, ‘course." Niall nods and turns his gaze back down to the rag in his hands.

Zayn's mouth twitches with a smile but he brings his cup up to his lips to hide it. Part of him wants to stay outside, to have another cigarette and keep watching Niall, but he thinks maybe he's made Niall squirm enough for one day. Maybe he'll go inside and hassle Harry into making him breakfast.

"Would you--" Niall starts, just as Zayn's made the decision to go back inside.

"Would I…?" Zayn asks, a faint smile stretching across his mouth. Niall laughs, his cheeks going red again.

"I just thought… maybe… I should, like, make it up to you. Or something." Niall's talking more to his hands than he is to Zayn; he hasn't looked up since Zayn last spoke.

"What'd you have in mind?"

"Dunno, we could…" Niall turns towards the beach, gesturing wildly with his hands. "Go surfing, or boogie-boarding, if you'd like. I could take you to the best spots."

"I don't…" Zayn laughs softly. "I don't really like the, umm, ocean."

Niall immediately turns his head and stares at him. "You don't like the ocean?"

"No?" Zayn scratches the back of his neck and laughs again, positive that his cheeks are now turning red also. "It's just… y'know. Big. Scary big."

"You came to Hawaii… which is an _island_ …"

"I know," Zayn says, rolling his eyes.

"But you don't like the ocean?" Zayn shrugs and looks down at his coffee, not quite enjoying having the tables turned around on him.

There's a moment of silence and then Niall erupts in uproarious laughter and a warm tingly feeling goes down Zayn's spine. It's the same laugh he's heard nearly every day since he arrived. Now that he knows who it's coming from, there's not a trace of annoyance that comes along with it.

"Sorry, sorry," Niall says, still chuckling. "I don't mean to laugh, but…"

Zayn tilts his head, giving Niall a rueful smile. "Yeah, yeah, it's pretty funny."

"What about the beach?" Niall asks after his laughter's finally subsided. "You don't have to go into the water, but you could enjoy the view."

Zayn darts his eyes to Niall, smiling a bit more as he looks him up and down. Niall doesn't look away, but there's a flush on his chest peeking out from under his vest that tells Zayn he doesn't mind the looking.

"Could do," Zayn replies finally. "Will you be around?"

"Yeah," Niall says with a bright smile. "I'm always around."

When Zayn finally goes back inside he has to fight the urge to look back at the window, to see if Niall's still smiling on the other side of the glass. He finds that Harry has moved since he last saw him; now he's standing in the kitchen, frowning down at his phone.

"Alright, Haz?" Zayn asks, coming closer with the intent to pour himself another cup of coffee.

"Yeah," Harry answers distractedly, locking his phone and slipping it into his pocket before he lifts his head up and plasters a smile on his face. "Hungry?"

*

Contrary to the past week, Harry hangs around the house instead of disappearing for hours on end. Zayn doesn't really notice, at first, because Harry keeps his distance. He's surprised to keep finding Harry in the living room, fully expecting to once again be abandoned, but he makes no mention of it. What's interesting is that Harry seems to spend an awful lot of time checking his phone, tapping the screen to see if he's missed any notifications, frowning when nothing pops up.

Zayn doesn't ask what he's waiting for. He figures it's none of his business, or Harry will tell him when he's ready to.

But on the day after, Harry starts getting clingy. He takes to following Zayn around like a puppy, copying just about everything Zayn does, apart from smoking. Zayn wouldn't really mind, except that Harry keeps _sighing_.

"What's wrong?" Zayn asks dutifully.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing."

Five minutes go by and Harry sighs again.

"Harry."

"Yes?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

Zayn rolls his eyes. "Something's wrong."

"No, nothing's--"

"Harry," Zayn says pointedly. "Either tell me what's wrong or piss off."

"I told you, nothing's wrong!"

"Then what're you sighing for all the time?"

"I'm not _sighing_ , I'm breathing," Harry remarks, his voice toeing the edge of anger.

"Alright, fine," Zayn mutters. He goes back to his book, trying to remember where he'd left off. Not two minutes go by before Harry sighs again and Zayn snaps his book shut. "That's it."

"Where're you going?" Harry asks as Zayn abruptly stands up and starts walking away from him.

"Down to the beach," Zayn says, mostly because it's the first thing that popped into his head. He can't stay in the house any longer, not if Harry continues to pretend like there isn't something bothering him. He'll end up throttling him before the day is over.

Harry is too surprised by Zayn's choice of destination to follow, which gives Zayn the perfect getaway. He jogs down the steps that lead towards the outdoor shower and starts walking down the little pathway towards the beach, hoping it's as straightforward as Harry made it seem.

He toes off his shoes as soon as the ground turns from dirt to sand, holding them in one hand and his book in the other. When he looks up from his feet, he sees the ocean and actually loses his breath for a moment.

It's absolutely beautiful.

The water is clearer than he's ever seen it, not that he's planning on going anywhere near it to get a closer look. He watches the tide come in and go out for a few seconds before he glances up and down the beach, trying to decide which way he's going to venture further.

He chooses to go left and finds that it's absurdly difficult, walking along the beach. Barely a minute goes by before Zayn finds himself breathing harder than usual and feeling even more annoyed with Harry for being a mopey twat for no reason. He concentrates on watching where he's walking so he avoids stepping on any shells or any other sharp matter buried beneath the sand, but he looks up immediately when he hears a familiar sound: Niall's laugh.

Maybe thirty feet in front of him, sitting on the beach with two surfboards stuck in the sand nearby, are Niall and Louis. Niall's got a bottle in his hand while Louis is laying down on his back, a pair of sunglasses over his eyes as the two of them chatter away.

Zayn continues to approach them, though his pace is remarkably slower than before. Somehow it's even harder for him to walk slowly through the sand than at his normal walking speed, but suddenly he feels self-conscious in a way he hadn't expected. He hadn't actually _believed_ Niall when he said he was always around, yet here he is. What if he was just offering to show Zayn around as a way to ensure that he wouldn't report the both of them for trespassing? What if Zayn reaches them and they laugh in his face, or worse, try to drag him into the water?

That last thought hits Zayn a little too hard and he trips over his own feet, stumbling through the sand and nearly falling over. He doesn't think he's made enough noise to draw attention until he's back on his feet, and looks up to see both Niall and Louis looking at him.

Niall lifts his arm and waves, smiling widely at him, but Louis, who had apparently sat up to better see him, immediately pulls his surfboard up and stalks off towards the water, leaving Niall by himself.

"You came," Niall says once Zayn's finally reached him. He pats the sand next to him and Zayn carefully sits down, trying to brush as much sand off of himself as he possibly can.

"Had to get away from the house," Zayn says quietly as he looks out towards the water. "Is he…?"

"Oh, don't mind Lou." Niall waves his hand. "He's just being… y'know. Lou."

"I don't, but alright." Zayn can't help but smile. He tilts his head to the side and looks down at the beach, searching for something else to say. He hears Niall rummaging around and turns his head to see what he's doing.

"Want one?" Niall asks, offering a bottle of beer to Zayn.

"Sure," he replies. Niall cracks it open for him and then clinks his own bottle against Zayn's.

"Cheers," he says, smiling brightly at him. Zayn echoes the statement and takes a drink, though it's rather hard given the size of the smile on his own face.

"You were right," Zayn says, breaking the amiable silence that had fallen over the two of them. "It's a fantastic view."

"Told you," Niall replies proudly. "Glad you see it my way."

"You won't be getting me in the water, I hope you know that."

"Baby steps," Niall says. "First step, beach. Second step…" He eyes Zayn up and down. "Proper beach attire."

Zayn looks down at himself and chuckles softly. He can't fault Niall on that one; jeans aren't exactly the best option for the beach.

"What's the third step?" Zayn asks, taking another swig from his bottle.

"Getting your toes in the water," Niall says. "After that, you'll be addicted."

Zayn laughs. "I dunno about that."

"Shh, trust me." Niall pats Zayn's arm lightly, brushing more sand across his skin. "Stick with me, and you'll learn to love the ocean."

"Yeah, alright." Zayn rolls his eyes, but the weird thing is, he sort of believes him.

It's a lot more peaceful, sitting on the beach, than Zayn thought it'd be. He's been conditioned to associate the beach with massive crowds and people shouting, but it's nothing like that just sitting next to Niall. The only sounds Zayn hears are the rustle of the wind in the trees, the tide coming in and washing away, and the occasional swig of beer from Niall's bottle.

He looks at Niall through his periphery, trying not to let on that he's staring at him. Niall keeps his eyes on the horizon, presumably watching Louis to ensure he doesn't drown himself. There's a twinge of pink on the apple of his cheek, probably from the sun rather than the weight of Zayn's stare. There are a thousand questions on the tip of Zayn's tongue but he just doesn't know where to start.

He doesn't have to, in the end, because Niall's the first to open his mouth.

"How long are you and Harry here for?"

"Couple weeks," Zayn answers. The exact date of their departure is fuzzy in his head; he's not even sure what today's date is. He feels the urge to pat down his pockets to find his phone, but a simple shift of his legs tells him that he doesn't even have it, that he must've left it behind at the house.

"Good."

"Good?" Zayn repeats, raising one eyebrow when Niall turns to him with a crooked smile.

"Yeah," he says. "Good. Plenty of time to show you around the island, if you'd like."

"I would," Zayn answers, far faster than he means to. His cheeks go pink and he drops his head as they both laugh. "I mean, yeah. That'd be cool."

"Cool," Niall repeats, only a little bit of mocking in his voice.

*

On the following morning, Zayn wakes up to find both Niall and Harry in the kitchen. It's still a little jarring to find anyone but Harry in the house, so Zayn has to stop and blink several times before he realizes he's not still dreaming. Harry pours him a cup of coffee while he's still adjusting to the sight, giving him a knowing smile before he disappears back into the master bedroom.

"Good morning," Niall says brightly as Zayn takes his first sip of coffee.

"Morning," he answers in a gravelly tone, clearing his throat after he's swallowed. "What're you doing here so early?"

Niall frowns a little as he checks his watch, but it's gone in an instant. "It's 10:30."

"Early," Zayn repeats.

"Got an adventure for you," Niall says, ignoring Zayn's comment. "If you're interested."

Zayn hums as he takes another sip of his coffee. "What sort of adventure?"

"The adventure kind," Niall answers. There's a twinkle in his eyes that should make Zayn feel wary about this whole thing, but instead it fills him with the same sort of warmth he felt when he heard Niall's laugh out on the deck a few days ago.

Zayn sighs a little, resigned already. "What sort of clothes should I wear on this _adventure_?"

Niall looks him up and down, his eyes lingering a little longer on what's below Zayn's waist than anywhere else. He quickly looks away when Zayn catches his eye and grins.

"A shirt," Niall says, clearing his throat loudly, "that'd probably be good. And some… different… y'know." He gestures to his shorts and continues avoiding eye contact.

"Alright," Zayn answers gleefully, finding far too much joy in the whole situation. "Back in a mo."

*

Half an hour later, Zayn's clinging to the door of Niall's Jeep as Niall speeds along on the tiny highway. There's no roof on Niall's Jeep and the doors are minimal at best, so every so often Zayn's arm gets whipped by passing foliage. When they go over a rather large puddle that nearly spans the width of the road, they both get a little wet.

"Is that from the ocean?" Zayn asks as he wipes his arm off.

"What, the water?" Niall laughs. "No, it rained this morning!"

"It rained?" Zayn repeats. "I thought this was paradise, what d'you mean it rained?"

"Seriously?" Niall laughs again. "You've been here over a week, it's rained nearly every day!"

Zayn stares at him blankly. "It has not, you're taking the piss."

Niall laughs even harder this time, his whole face lights up with it and the Jeep glides over the center line for a few seconds, making Zayn just _slightly_ nervous that Niall's going to accidentally hit someone, but he rights the car before any others come along.

"Swear on my life," he says, holding his hand up. "It rains basically every day, I dunno how you've missed it."

"I sleep a lot," Zayn offers in response. "So, hang on, why do people call this paradise if it rains every day?"

"Because it's not like, London rain. It's pretty light, and usually only goes for like, minute bursts." Niall shrugs, easy as anything.

"Then why don't you have a roof on your car?" Zayn says, looking up at the bright blue sky. "Don't you get rained on, like, constantly?"

"Only during the rainy season," Niall replies with a shrug. Zayn snorts, shaking his head before pressing his hand against his face.

"You're a strange one, you know that?" he says, tilting his head so he can look at Niall.

"And proud of it," Niall replies.

Niall eventually pulls into a parking lot that's filled with other cars. Most of their occupants are heading further down the road and Zayn naturally assumes that's where they're going too, so he walks around the Jeep with the intent of following suit, but Niall whistles to get his attention and jerks his head in the opposite direction.

"This way," he says before turning his back to Zayn and walking away.

He leads Zayn towards the opening of what appears to be a tunnel, and Zayn loiters at the entrance while Niall just goes right in. He realizes after a few steps that Zayn isn't following and turns around, an easy grin on his face as he walks back to him.

"Don't worry," he says as he extends his hand. "I ain't gonna murder you."

"That's reassuring," Zayn remarks dryly. He waits another few seconds before he takes Niall's hand and lets him lead the way into the tunnel.

It's dark and humid, and Zayn cringes when he puts his hand on the wall and it comes away wet. He should've expected that, he thinks, but it doesn't change his reaction. He highly doubts he would've come here on his own and he's thankful that Niall seems to know the way.

"Just a little further," Niall says as they turn a corner and Zayn finally sees some light shining through.

There's a bit of a hill once they reach the end of the tunnel, and Niall lets go of Zayn's hand as he starts walking up it. Zayn tries not to miss the warmth of his hand, telling himself that Niall was just helping him through the dark, that's all.

The view from the top of the hill is stunning; Zayn can hardly believe how blue the water is, and how it almost exactly matches the color of the sky. It's definitely worth the few minutes they spent in the dark and damp tunnel, and Niall laughs when Zayn tells him just that.

"Does that mean you'll trust me from now on?" Niall asks with a smug grin.

"Maybe," Zayn replies, too charmed not to smile in return.

*

Their exploration of the tunnels is only the beginning in the set of adventures that Niall prepares for Zayn. It becomes a routine, Zayn waking up to Niall waiting for him in the kitchen and whisking him away to another part of the island.

Niall takes him to all the best local farmers' markets, urging him to try all sorts of new fruits that look insanely weird but each one seems to taste better than the last. They spend an afternoon at a beach that has what Niall refers to as "kiddie pools", and Zayn is surprised to see that his description is fairly apt. He lets Niall convince him to put his feet in the water but he doesn't go more than ankle-deep, whereas Niall submerges himself almost immediately.

At the top of a hill, through numerous twisting roads that leave Zayn feeling a little ill at the end of it all, Niall shows him a waterfall that feeds into a pool. There's another local man sitting by where the cars are parked, weaving leaves into a basket while his pet pig runs around as much as his leash will allow him to.

On the drive back to the house, Zayn finally plucks up the courage to ask Niall how he came to live on the island, when he's so obviously not from here.

"It's a long story," Niall says. He's got sunglasses on, covering his eyes so Zayn can't tell if his question has made Niall uncomfortable or not. He's about to say don't worry about it, he doesn't have to share if he doesn't want to, but Niall starts speaking again before he can.

"We moved around Ireland a lot, me and my dad. When I was little, mostly. Times were tough, y'know. Same old story."

Niall pauses for a moment but Zayn stays quiet. After a minute or so, Niall clears his throat and continues.

"We, umm, moved to Australia when I was about fourteen or so. Had some family there, and Dad thought being there would help."

"Help?" Zayn asks quietly.

"Yeah, he…" Niall breaks off into a humorless laugh. "Well, it didn't help. Couple years later, I was crashing on my cousin's couch and trying to figure out what the hell to do next." Niall swallows hard and clears his throat again, tapping his fingers against his steering wheel. "Couple more years went by, and some of the friends I'd made in Australia decided to come here."

"Why?"

Niall shrugs. "Just something people do, turns out. I followed, ended up meeting Louis by complete chance," Niall breaks off into a laugh, far more natural than the one before, "and I've been here ever since."

"Wow," Zayn says, for lack of anything better. He stays silent for a while, trying to decide whether apologizing for asking or apologizing for making Niall relive his sad memories is something he should do. He glances down at Niall's hand where it's resting just below the gear shift. There's an inexplicable urge for him to reach for it, to take Niall's hand in his own and just hold it. Zayn's hand twitches where it's resting on his own thigh and he moves it ever so slightly to the left, towards Niall's.

"If you're feeling sorry for me," Niall says, breaking the silence and the tension, "don't. I love my life here."

"I didn't--" Zayn clears his throat awkwardly and flexes the fingers on his left hand, trying and failing not to draw Niall's attention to them. "Sorry, I just--"

"It's alright." Niall turns his head, smiling as he glances down at Zayn's hand and he moves his own a little to the right. "I've been here so long that I can't really imagine living anywhere else."

"Even with the rain?" Zayn asks, a smile tugging at his lips. He moves his hand further to the left and brushes his pinky finger against Niall's.

Niall curls his pinky finger around Zayn's before he turns back to face the road, and the smile on his face doesn't falter even for a moment. "No rain, no rainbow."

*

Someone is poking Zayn's cheek. He tries to bat them away, but his arm is so heavy that he can't do it. He was sleeping mere seconds ago, blissfully dreaming away in his cozy bed, and now he's being poked.

"Piss off, Haz," he mumbles sleepily, mostly into his pillow. The laugh he hears is definitely not Harry, and he cracks one eye open.

"Wake up," Niall whispers. Zayn blinks and groans softly.

"No," he mutters, turning his head and pressing it back into the pillow. It's still dark out, for crying out loud. Nobody should be awake right now.

"Zayn," Niall says softly, poking his shoulder as he whines. "Wake up."

"No," he says again, moving his shoulder to try and get Niall to stop poking him. "Sleeping."

"C'mon," Niall whispers. "Got another adventure for you. Gotta go now."

Zayn groans loudly as he rolls onto his back. "Why now?" He rubs his eyes. "It's still dark out, you loon."

"Well, yeah," Niall says as he gently grabs Zayn's wrist and pulls him upright. "Can't watch the sunrise if it's already up."

"Could just go back to sleep," Zayn says, trying to pull his wrist back. "And dream about sunrises instead."

"They're better in person," Niall replies. "Promise it'll be worth it."

Zayn sighs, exaggerated and long-suffering. Even in the dark, Niall's smile shines.

"Fine," he mutters, kicking the covers back off his legs. "Gimme five minutes."

*

It's not cold outside by any normal standards, but with there being almost no barrier between Zayn and the outdoors in Niall's Jeep, Zayn still finds himself crossing his arms and wishing he'd had something thicker than just a henley to wear. He pulls the long white sleeves down over his hands and tucks them under his arms, frowning grumpily at Niall when he glances over at him and laughs.

"C'mere," he says, holding out his hand. Zayn waits a beat before taking it and Niall twists their fingers together and holds onto his hand tightly. His hand is warm against Zayn's, sending sparks down through Zayn's arm and filling his chest with a sense of happiness he didn't know he could feel at half past six in the morning.

Somehow Zayn ends up falling asleep, waking only when Niall turns off the engine and gently shakes him. He glances around at their surroundings, only to find that there's not much around them at all.

"Sure you're not going to murder me?" Zayn mutters as he rubs his eyes. Niall laughs as he undoes Zayn's seat belt and opens the driver's side door.

"Promise. Now c'mon."

Niall leads him away from the Jeep and towards what turns out to be a hiking trail, which prompts Zayn to groan loudly.

"You dragged me out of bed at six in the morning for a hike?" he grumbles, glaring at Niall when he turns around. He can't seem to stay angry enough for his liking when Niall looks at him, and the anger dissipates almost completely when Niall takes Zayn's hand and squeezes.

"Told you it'd be worth it, didn't I?" He tugs gently on Zayn's arm, leading him towards the start of the trail.

Niall keeps Zayn talking, asking him all sorts of questions about his life in London and what sort of things he likes to do. Zayn tells him all about his program and what he thinks his graduate studies are going to be like. He tells him about his family, how he misses his sisters a lot sometimes but they text frequently and he gets to go and see them every so often so it's not all bad.

He squeezes Niall's hand a little harder when Niall goes quiet after hearing about Zayn's family. Niall squeezes back, offering him a smile before changing the subject.

"How'd you meet Harry?"

"Uni," Zayn answers. "We were put in the same house our first year, but we both had these roommates we absolutely hated, so we spent most of our time in the common room. Just sort of… I dunno, became friends after that?" Zayn shrugs. "He's kind of a weirdo, but in a way it's like I've known him my whole life."

"It was sort of like that for me and Tommo," Niall says with a laugh. "He's a bit of a shit, but once you get to know him you see that it's all just an act. He's a total softie, on the inside."

"I'll take your word for it," Zayn replies.

"He's not bad," Niall says. "He's just had a rough couple of years, that's all."

"So have you," Zayn says quietly. "And look how lovely you turned out."

Niall blushes. "Lovely, huh?"

"Yeah," Zayn says, blushing even harder than Niall. "Like you don't already know."

"Nice to hear it, anyway." Niall shrugs one shoulder and twists his fingers a little tighter around Zayn's. It feels a lot like _thank you_.

*

Zayn swears wherever they're going is too far for them to actually be able to watch the sunrise, but Niall doesn't seem to think so. He keeps leading the way, careful to avoid puddles and the really muddy parts of the trail. He stops at a seemingly ordinary spot and then veers completely off the path, dragging Zayn along with him.

"Where are you taking me?" Zayn asks, only struggling a little with the sudden change in incline.

"Just a little further," Niall promises.

He comes to a stop not even a full minute later, and when Zayn reaches the spot beside him, his jaw drops. Niall's led them to the absolute _perfect_ place to watch the sun rise over the huge, green-covered mountain range. To their left, there's even a waterfall.

"Fuck," Zayn whispers softly, absolutely stunned by the marvelous beauty of it all.

"Worth it, right?" Niall asks. When Zayn turns to look at him, he's got the biggest smile Zayn's ever seen.

He can't find the words to tell Niall exactly how he feels. There just aren't enough. So instead, he leans over and presses a kiss to Niall's mouth, hoping that'll be a good enough answer.

Niall slips his hand behind Zayn's neck and kisses back, going easily when Zayn wraps his arm around Niall's waist and pulls him closer. They kiss for so long that the sun's shining all around them when they finally pull back from each other's mouths. Zayn feels like he couldn't stop smiling if he tried.

"C'mon," Niall whispers softly, his voice a little gruff. It sends a shiver down Zayn's spine. "Let's go."

They're about halfway back to Niall's Jeep when it starts raining a little, more mist than anything else. Zayn hardly notices it at all.

"Forgive me for pulling you out of bed?" Niall asks, slightly teasing. Zayn tugs him into another kiss, both of them pausing in their stride until Niall pulls back.

"Could've let me sleep," Zayn says. "Watched the sunset instead."

"Could've," Niall echoes. "But then we would've gotten rained on."

Zayn looks up and laughs. "It's already raining, numpty."

"This?" Niall laughs. "This is nothing."

"What do you--"

On cue, the rain starts coming down harder. A lot harder. They both take off running, splashing through puddles and skidding through the mud in their race to get back to Niall's Jeep. They're halfway to being soaked by the time they reach it, and it's then that Zayn remembers that there's no roof on the Jeep.

"Why don't you have a bloody roof?!" he shouts over the pouring rain, laughing as Niall shakes his head like a wet dog.

"Can't fit a surfboard in the backseat with a roof!" Niall shouts back.

They're drenched from head to foot, half-covered in mud and absolutely freezing by the time they make it back to the house. The Range Rover isn't in the driveway, which strikes Zayn as a little odd, but he has no time to dwell on it before he's rushing inside after Niall, who's already punched in the code to unlock the door.

"So that's how you got inside," he muses, stepping across the threshold after Niall and shutting the door behind them.

"I told you, I take care of this place when Harry's not around," Niall replies.

"I think you called yourself the handyman," Zayn says, biting his bottom lip and feeling that same shiver when Niall's eyes drop to stare at it.

"Might've done," Niall says in a surprisingly low voice. "What about it?"

Zayn grins as he pulls Niall into a kiss, groaning against Niall's mouth when he feels Niall's hands slip under the wet fabric of the henley clinging to his skin. They stumble over each other's feet in their rush to get to Zayn's room, but Zayn doesn't follow Niall's lead towards the bed.

"C'mere," he says, giving Niall a wicked smile as he pulls him by the shirt into the bathroom. He tugs it up and over Niall's head, pressing his mouth to Niall's as soon as it comes back into view.

Niall's hands go for Zayn's belt first, trying his best to push his wet jeans down his thighs but cursing into Zayn's mouth when it doesn't go according to plan. Zayn breaks the kiss with a laugh, ripping off his henley before going to work on his jeans. When he's finally gotten them off, he glances up to see Niall still half-dressed and just _staring_ at him and he starts to blush.

"Your turn," he says, tapping his hand against the waistband of Niall's boardshorts as he slips past him to turn the shower on.

As he's waiting for the water to heat up, Niall comes up behind him and wraps his arms around Zayn's waist and starts kissing his neck. Zayn's knees wobble beneath him and he presses both hands against the shower walls to keep himself from collapsing.

Niall hisses a little at the heat of the water after Zayn whips around and pulls him under the spray, but soon he's too distracted by Zayn's mouth on his own to worry about how hot the water is. Their hands slide wetly across each other's bodies, both of them pulling the other as close as possible and moaning when they get touched _just_ right.

Zayn is the first to reach between them, taking a hold of Niall's cock in his hand and grinning when Niall gasps and curses breathlessly.

"Yeah?" Zayn breathes into Niall's ear as he starts flicking his wrist, sucking kisses into the sensitive part of Niall's neck.

"Fuck yeah," Niall groans as his hands drop to Zayn's arse, kneading the flesh with his fingers as Zayn quickens the pace of his hand. He laughs against Niall's skin and switches to the other side of his head, putting his mouth right up against Niall's ear.

"C'mon, lemme hear you," he growls. Niall moans loudly in response and drops his head forward onto Zayn's shoulder, bucking his hips forward into Zayn's hand.

"Fuck," he grunts, "fuck, Zayn, _fuck_!"

"Yeah, that's it," Zayn breathes out. "Come for me."

Niall shouts as he comes, his voice fading into a whimper as Zayn keeps stroking him through it. He can't help the smug grin on his face when Niall lifts his head and looks at him, all blissful and fucked out. Niall presses his mouth to Zayn and moans a little, batting Zayn's hand away from his dick.

"Give us a mo," he says in a hoarse voice, "before you start going for round two."

"Round two already?" Zayn muses. Niall glances down between them for a moment and then looks back up at Zayn, a wicked smile appearing on his face as his eyes go from glassy to sharp in nothing flat.

Without another word, Niall drops to his knees. Zayn barely has time to think before Niall's taken his cock in hand and sucked the head into his mouth.

"Shit!" Zayn gasps, slamming one hand against the shower wall as the other immediately goes to Niall's hair, his fingers twisting around the wet strands matted to Niall's head.

When Niall moans around his cock, Zayn's head drops back for just long enough for him to get a face full of water. He splutters and shakes his head, accidentally thrusting his hips forward and pushing his cock further into Niall's mouth.

He expects Niall to choke, to pull off and ask what the fuck just happened, but neither happens. Niall's hands tighten on Zayn's hips and he moans again as he starts sucking harder, making Zayn feel like he may pass out at any moment.

"Jesus fucking--" Zayn groans and pants, trying to catch his breath but failing. "Shit, Niall, I'm gonna come, _fuck_ I'm gonna--"

Niall doesn't let up, and Zayn shouts as he comes hard down Niall's throat. He shakes through his orgasm, his legs feeling like they're turning to jelly as soon as Niall pulls off. He stays down on his knees for a few seconds, breathing hard as he looks up at Zayn with a cheeky grin.

"Niall," Zayn says breathlessly as he gets to his feet.

"Yeah?" Niall raises his eyebrows as he crowds Zayn back against the wall, pressing their bodies together as he noses against Zayn's jawline. As soon as his head clears, Zayn grabs Niall's face and brings their mouths together again, kissing him hungrily.

They're both breathless and a little bit giggly by the time they pull away from the kiss, and there's so much steam in the small bathroom that they've both started to sweat even with the water still cascading over them.

"D'you fancy a nap?" Zayn asks, fumbling around to shut off the water.

"With you?" Niall grins. "Definitely."

They towel off haphazardly before falling into bed together, not bothering to dress before they're pressing in close under the covers. Zayn tucks his head under Niall's chin, pressing feather-light kisses to his chest as Niall traces invisible lines across Zayn's shoulder and back.

"Totally worth it," Zayn whispers softly against Niall's skin, pressing his smile against his chest as Niall shakes with silent laughter.

*

It's late afternoon by the time Niall and Zayn wake up for the second time and drag themselves out of bed. They poke around the kitchen for something to eat for a late lunch, but it's slow going considering they keep getting distracted by kissing each other. They're in the middle of kissing while a pot of water boils on the stove, when Harry comes banging into the house with a scowl on his face.

He takes one look at the two of them and the scowl deepens.

"Hazza," Zayn says warily, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he mutters before stomping off towards the master bedroom and slams the door behind him.

"He's been like that for days," Zayn says with a huff as he turns back to the stove and dumps a box of macaroni into the boiling water. "Won't tell me what's wrong, but won't stop acting like an arse, either."

"Think I might know what's bothering him," Niall says softly, looking a bit timid when Zayn turns back around.

Ten minutes later, Zayn marches into the master bedroom and finds Harry curled up in bed, pouting.

"You absolute fuckhead," Zayn says as he tugs the covers away from Harry, who whines and tries to pull them back.

"What? What'd I do to you?" Harry asks as Zayn sits down on the bed next to him and flicks his ear.

"You didn't do anything to _me_ ," Zayn says as Harry rubs his ear, the scowl returning to his face. "But you've done something stupid, haven't you?"

"I don't know what--"

"Oh really?" Zayn interrupts, not keen on letting Harry continue lying right to his face. "So the name _Louis_ doesn't mean anything to you, does it?"

Harry doesn't answer, but the scowl melts away into a look of supreme guilt that says plenty.

"That's what I thought." Zayn picks up a pillow and brings it down over Harry's head repeatedly. "You! Absolute! Fuckhead!"

"Alright! Alright!" Harry grabs the pillow and tosses it away so Zayn can't hit him with it anymore. "I get it!"

"I don't think you do," Zayn replies. "You're in here all by yourself, moping about like you're the one who's been fucked over, when actually you've just been doing the fucking."

Harry scowls again, turning his head away from Zayn so he doesn't have to make eye contact. Zayn sighs heavily and rubs a hand over his face. He waits a few seconds and then places a gentle hand on Harry's hair, running his fingers through it as best he can.

"Why'd you do it, Haz?" he asks softly. "Why'd you jerk him around like that?"

"I didn't _mean_ to," Harry answers miserably. "I thought we were just having fun, y'know. Just a bit of fun."

"But?"

"I didn't _know_ he thought we were… y'know. A thing." Harry's face crumples and he pulls his legs in so he can press his head against his knees. "He never _said_."

"Oh, Hazza. My poor, dumb Hazza." Zayn sighs as he continues petting Harry's head.

"Piss off," Harry grumbles. "Like you're any better, fucking around with Niall."

"Hey," Zayn says sharply, "don't take your shit out on me. Niall and I are…" Zayn trails off and glances over his shoulder at the door, half-expecting Niall to be standing right there, waiting for the rest of his statement. "I dunno what we are," he says finally. "But I'm not gonna be a dick about it and assume one way or the other."

Harry groans pathetically and tries to shake Zayn's hand away, but Zayn wraps his arm around Harry's shoulders and leans into him.

"You like him, don't you?" Harry grunts. "Then you should fuckin' tell him that, you knob."

"He told me to fuck off," Harry snaps. "Pretty sure he doesn't want me to tell him anything."

"Nah, that's not it." Both Zayn and Harry turn around to see Niall standing in the doorway with a bowl in one hand and a fork in the other, feeding himself macaroni and cheese. "Lou's just stubborn, is all."

Zayn has to fight a smile just looking at him. He's got a bit of cheese smeared on his upper lip and his cheeks are puffed out from how much macaroni he's shoved into his mouth, but _god help him_ , Zayn just wants to kiss him again.

"He'll probably tell you to fuck off at least four more times," Niall goes on, "but if you keep badgering him, and if you actually fuckin' mean it when you say you're sorry, he'll eventually listen."

Harry lets out a breath that's half groan and half whine before burying his face against his knees once again. Zayn and Niall share a look before Zayn gets up from the bed, leaving Harry to wallow in his own misery for a while longer.

"I'll drag him out later," Zayn says quietly as he closes the door behind them.

"We could bring him down to the party," Niall says through a mouthful of macaroni and cheese. Zayn snickers softly, looking down at the bowl in Niall's hands and then up at his face.

"What party?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Niall swallows his bite and smiles. "A couple people I know are throwing a party later on tonight. Beer and bonfire on the beach, that sort of thing. Louis will definitely be there."

"Then we're definitely making Harry go," Zayn says as he takes Niall's fork out of his hands and eats some of his macaroni. Niall stares at him dumbfounded and Zayn smiles at him as he chews.

"I can't believe you just did that."

"Did what?" Zayn asks innocently. "This?" he asks as he spears some more macaroni onto the fork and brings it up to his mouth.

"You're a dirty, rotten food thief," Niall mutters, snatching the fork away from Zayn and trying to hide his smile. "You're gonna pay for that."

Zayn raises an eyebrow and grins. "Can't wait."

*

Harry isn't exactly thrilled with the idea of going to this party but they manage to talk him into it anyway. Zayn isn't sure whether telling him that Louis is going to be there as well was a good idea or a bad idea, but it didn't seem to affect Harry's decision one way or the other.

They've been on the beach for all of five minutes when Louis spots Harry and immediately turns away, heading in the opposite direction of the three of them as quickly as he can. Harry visibly deflates; his shoulders slump and he sighs heavily.

"Go on," Niall says encouragingly. "He might try to drown you in the water, but at least you'll have tried to apologize."

"Maybe later," Harry mumbles as he turns and heads over to where people have gathered around several coolers that are presumably filled with various types of alcohol.

Zayn almost goes after him, but decides at the last moment not to. _Harry's a big boy_ , he rationalizes. _He can take care of himself_.

"Wanna sit?" Niall asks, nodding towards where some folding chairs have been set up near the bonfire. Zayn nods and takes Niall's hand, leading the way.

He waits for Niall to sit first and then settles himself down between Niall's legs, leaning his back against Niall's chest and making himself comfortable. Niall chuckles softly as he wraps his arms around Zayn's middle and noses behind his ear.

"There are other chairs," he teases.

"Liked this one best," Zayn replies, putting his hands on top of Niall's. "Not my fault you sat here first."

Zayn shivers when Niall breathes out a laugh against his neck, pressing his lips to his skin and wrapping his arms just a little tighter around him. Zayn closes his eyes for a moment and thinks he might actually understand this whole _paradise_ thing if it means staying in Niall's arms.

Which… is a startling new development. Zayn doesn't know what to make of this new perspective; all he knows for sure is that it's making the butterflies in his stomach go absolutely wild.

"Look," Niall whispers in his ear, nudging Zayn until he turns his head to see what Niall's pointing at.

A few feet away, Louis has reappeared on the edge of the party. The pair of them watch as he glances around in what's probably supposed to be a nonchalant manner. For someone who wanted to avoid his sort of ex, Louis is doing a terrible job of hiding.

"Where's Harry?" Zayn murmurs. "He's going to miss his chance again."

"Give it a minute," Niall whispers back.

Sure enough, Harry eventually breaks away from the crowd, carrying two bottles in his hand and extending one to Louis as a peace offering when he's close enough. In the seconds that follow, Zayn finds himself holding his breath and hoping that Louis doesn't take the bottle and try to break it over Harry's head. He breathes a heavy sigh of relief when Louis takes the bottle from Harry and simply holds it.

"Looks like it's going well," Niall says quietly. "Never know though, with Tommo. Could change in a few seconds."

Zayn bites back a laugh at Niall's commentary, covering it by clearing his throat. He watches as Harry and Louis talk, only slightly annoyed that he can't hear anything. After a minute or two they walk off together and Zayn notes that Louis doesn't seem to mind when Harry's hand brushes past his arm.

A thought occurs to Zayn a moment later and he tilts his head up, brushing his nose against Niall's chin and making him snicker a little.

"What?"

"Remember when you were telling me about Louis and Harry?"

"Yeah."

"You said…" Zayn laughs softly. "You said that you came to the house that morning to do a little reconnaissance, to find out who I was, yeah?"

Even in the dark, Zayn can see the blush pinking up Niall's cheeks. "Yeah…"

"Did you ask Harry if we were shagging?" Zayn asks, barely getting the words out without laughing.

"Jesus, no," Niall says, laughing even harder than Zayn. "No, I… I came up from the beach, yeah? And when I passed by Harry's room I saw the bed was empty, so I figured if you two were… _y'know_ … then you'd be together somewhere else."

"And?"

"And Harry was all by himself in the living room," Niall says. "And then later on you came out of a totally different room and…" Niall shrugs. "Didn't have to ask."

"Very perceptive of you," Zayn muses. "No wonder you were flirting with me that morning."

"Excuse me?" Niall snorts. "If I remember correctly, you were undressing me with your eyes the whole bloody time I was washing the windows."

"Yeah, well," Zayn says as he tucks his head back in the crook of Niall's neck and smiles to himself. "Can't blame me for that."

Niall presses a kiss to Zayn's forehead. "S'pose I can't."

The butterflies start flapping around in Zayn's belly again, making his heart beat so fast and loud that he's certain Niall's going to hear it. He replays the conversation he had with Harry earlier in his head and starts twisting his fingers between Niall's as a means of distraction.

He doesn't want to have this conversation, not yet. But at the same time he feels like if he doesn't get the words out, he might combust.

"Niall?" Zayn whispers.

"Hmm?"

"Do you… Are we…" Zayn sighs sharply and tries again. "When I leave, what--"

"Zayn," Niall says gently, pulling his fingers free from Zayn's grip and tilting his chin up so he can give him a proper kiss. "Don't worry about it right now, okay?"

"But--" Niall kisses him again and Zayn sighs against his mouth, curling his fist into Niall's shirt.

"Not right now," Niall whispers as he presses his forehead against Zayn's. "Just… enjoy what we're doing right now."

"What're we doing?" Zayn asks, seeking out Niall's mouth for another kiss.

Niall moans a little into his mouth, smiling when he pulls back. "We're enjoying paradise."

EPILOGUE

It's raining when Zayn's plane touches down at Heathrow. He leans his head against the window and watches the drops slide down the pane as the flight attendant makes their landing announcement.

He pulls his phone from his pocket and turns off airplane mode, tapping his fingers against his case as his eyes drift back to the window.

It's grey and cloudy outside, looking nothing like what he'd gotten used to over the last few weeks. His flat's probably freezing cold from the heat being off for so long.

His phone buzzes twice in succession and he glances down, a smile spreading across his face when he sees Niall's name pop up across the screen.

_Miss you already_ , the first text reads.

_Can't wait to come visit_ , the second says.

Zayn grins as he turns back to the window and sees the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. For a moment, he sees the flicker of a rainbow in the sky, and then it's gone as the sun disappears behind another cloud.

He turns back to his phone and types, _can't wait to have you here_.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://imlouisaf.tumblr.com)


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